Light Show

About a month ago, one of my nephews mentioned that he was going to attend the Pomona Auto Swap Meet to be held on a Sunday in early April. I told him I intended to go as well so we made a plan to meet up. Generally speaking, he travels to Pomona from central California to look for car parts while I go to take photos of the classic cars. I let him know I intended to arrive at 5:00AM and that he would find me near the drag strip grandstands where the lowrider and Chevy bombs usually park. 

The day before the event, Kathy and I got our cameras and gear together, I cleaned my camera sensors and made sure the camera batteries I intended to use were fully charged. I was also going to be using a new 10” external monitor for the first time so I made sure the batteries for that were charged and also ensured I put any required cables in my rolling camera bag.

The day of the event, I got up at 3:00AM to take a shower before we left. Kathy was going to get up at 4:00AM and was already on the move when I walked downstairs. She wasn’t feeling well however and was vacillating on whether she should go or not. She ultimately decided to stay home and go back to bed. Once I was sure she would be OK, I left about 4:15AM. It was still very dark as I walked to my car, loaded up my camera gear and jacket. I didn’t see the sun until well after I arrived in Pomona about 36 miles away. While it didn’t rain during the event like it did last month, it was a foggy drive and when I arrived, there was enough moisture in the air to create the light beams from the headlights of the Chevy Fleetline pictured below. This is the same car I admired and photographed last month. I chatted with the owner who once again was kind enough to turn on his headlights for my photos. 

I had been taking photos for about 30 minutes when my nephew and his wife walked up to me. They were primarily dressed in black and seemed to materialize suddenly out of the darkness that surrounded me. As always, it was great to see them and we chatted for about 45 minutes before they departed to walk around the swap meet and look for stuff to buy. I got back to shooting more photos and had a great time.  

In Her Element - Kathy and the '57 Chevy

I frequently get asked about my image-generating process. I’ve detailed it before, but for newcomers, I not only unapologetically post-process my images but also use a tripod during capture. I take between 9 to 11 exposures to capture the range of light I desire, especially when ambient lighting is low and long exposure times are anticipated. Holding my camera perfectly still for a 30-second exposure would be impossible.

In this image, I’ve captured Kathy in her element: a cool overcast morning, a classic car (or truck), her camera mounted on a tripod, and her camera bag. She’s wearing her hat with the words “Close your fucking hood” pinstriped across the brim. Kathy knows what she likes and, while quiet and reserved, isn’t shy about expressing her opinions with a fiery delivery.

I approached the truck just as the owner was parking it and asked if he’d leave the lights on for a minute while I took a few photos. He happily obliged, initially leaving the parking lights on and then turning on the headlights. Seeing this, Kathy joined me and took a few shots as well. I moved my tripod back to avoid appearing in her photos, knowing from experience that she might ask me to “move my fat ass out of the shot” or make other endearing comments. After 17 years, we understand one another. While I greet car owners, Kathy captures the best images and writes compelling stories. I enjoyed chatting with the owner about the truck and was glad he braved the intermittent rain. Kathy gave him a business card so he could see the photos we took of this beauty under stormy skies.

'48 Pomona Blues

Toward the end of our visit to the Pomona Auto Swap Meet last March, I strolled along the drag strip grandstands and stumbled upon a striking two-tone blue 1948 Chevy Fleetline. Usually, I skip through the cars in this section because their hoods are raised, and for-sale signs are prominently displayed on the windshields. However, this car was different. It wasn’t for sale, but its paint shone brilliantly, reflecting the light even amidst the intermittent rain showers and threatening skies overhead. After taking several photos with my camera, I snapped another one with my phone and sent it to Kathy, letting her know about the car and its location so she wouldn’t miss it. I’m not sure if she’s ever seen this particular car before, but I’m certainly glad I added it to my digital collection.

 

Black Fleetline Under Stormy Skies

Kathy and I decided to go to the Pomona Auto Swap Meet at the Fairplex in Pomona, California once we learned that it wasn't supposed to rain until later that morning. Kathy's older brother and his wife happened to be in town, so we asked if they wanted to join us and they agreed. We picked them up around 4:00am and headed for Pomona. The drive to the event was uneventful with the exception of encountering a police car weaving back and forth across the freeway lanes ahead of us for a short time. Once we arrived, we saw that the line of cars waiting to enter was fairly short. I think many exhibitors and visitors decided not to show up due to the impending storm. When we arrived at the show area there were only a handful of cars for us to photograph but more arrived as time went by. One of those cars that arrived was this 1947 Chevy Fleetline. The owner was kind enough to leave the lights on for me while I took my shots. It began sprinkling as I took these photos and it wasn't until I moved to the rear of the car that I realized that the sky had become quite dark. We continued shooting lots of cars until it became obvious that we should go get some breakfast.

Low Slung Fun

At the same Montebello car show, we also saw this stunning beauty. Can anyone identify a modern car that is this stylish and beautiful? Sure the owner has modified this car extensively but if a single person can realize this vision why can't the big car companies? Probably because most people these days are only interested in boring, boxy SUV's. The world is a less interesting place because of this.

A Face Full of Grill

Kathy and I decided on a whim to attend a car show in Montebello being held at a park. There were lots of cars in the adjacent parking lot and several more lined up curbside across the street. This is where we found this black 1938 Buick. I was immediately drawn to it due to its beautiful paint job and extensive amount of chrome gleaming in the sun. It was a hot day and Kathy was already feeling the effects of it. Not long after we photographed the cars adjacent to this one, we called it a day and walked across the street, bought a couple of water bottles and headed back to my car for the ride home in the cold air conditioning it can produce. 

Gumby

I saw this clean, slammed, two toned chevy truck at the 2023 Riverside show & go car show tucked away on a side street. We had walked around all morning taking loads of photos and we were nearly ready to return to the hotel to check out and head home. Glad I got few shots of this beforehand.

Earn Your Wings

Just a few posts ago, I was talking about style when it comes to cars. I really do feel that today's cars are sorely lacking in style probably because every design today is the result of a focus group and not the realization of a group of visionaries. I may be wrong but check out this 1959 impala! If this is considered bad design, well sign me up! I'm ready to earn my wings. 

Splendor in the Grass

We often hear it's not a good idea to park your car on the grass while the engine is hot. Your catalytic converter could start a fire. I think this slammed 1930's car is safe as it predates catalytic converters by at least 40 years. The incredibly stylish body and mirror like finish on this car is what stopped me in my tracks at the San Diego, Chicano Park car show on this day in 2023. I just love the exuberant styling common to cars of the late 1930’s. Maybe after the trials of the great depression, exuberance was needed. Things would not be the same after World War II concluded. To poorly quote William Wordsworth:

Though nothing can bring back the hour of splendor in the grass, glory in the flower.
We will grieve not; rather find strength in what remains behind.

Taking a New Lens for a Swirl

The Petzval lens design has been around since the 1840's and is best known for creating a crisp center area of focus while rendering the surrounding area with an out-of-focus swirly bokeh. Almost like the bokeh has decided to do a little pirouette. While the pursuit of perfect optics in modern lens design would seemingly have made this type of lens obsolete, I find it quite compelling even with it’s tendency to generate chromatic aberration and heavy vignetting. For this reason, when Lensbaby decided to release their own take on the Petzval lens, the Twist 60, I bought it the first time they offered it at a significant discount. While I'm still learning to this manual focus lens, if I continue to get good results, I’ll be posting more from this little lightweight optical wonder soon!